EVENTS: 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02: Sedans

In Part 02 of our coverage of the 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show we examine the fabulous four-doors that graced the Queen Mary lawn.

The GC10 Nissan Skyline is a perennial favorite, and despite the presence of no less than three examples this year, still rare as it is beautiful. Here at JNC headquarters the debate rages on over whether it’s the two- or four-door hakosuka that are more appropriately nostalgic.

Even among sedans there can be visual variation. For a late 70s street racer look one can cut and flare rear fender with molded fiberglass and a set of deep dish SSR MkIIs.

Compare that to Mikey Castillo‘s uber-shakotan RB-powered race replica on proper touring car Watanabes. If you’ll remember Mikey’s car was the JNC booth display vehicle last year, and has since undergone a “Wolf” Kitano livery makeover.

Ryan Rudd of JDM Legends still has Shinichiro Sakurai‘s original surf line in tact. Its lesser-spec trim and oddball (read: not silver or white) color shows what would far more likely have been rolling around Tokyo in 1969.

Since the hakosuka kicked off the GT-R legend, Connell Nissan brought out a midnight blue R35 for comparison’s sake.

At the very opposite end of the performance spectrum was a beautifully restored 1959 Toyopet Crown from the Toyota USA Museum, one of the first Japanese vehicles to be sold in America.

Equally impressive from the Nissan camp was Greg Childs‘ 1963 P312 Datsun Bluebird imported from Australia in unrestored original condition, with only 63,000 miles on the clock.

Michael MacDonald is probably among the most dedicated Datsun owners in the country, having purchased his Datsun 411 new in 1967 — before the Z and 510 craze — and preserved for 43 years.

Chris Green‘s 1979 Honda Accord was quite likely the lowest mileage car at the show, if not one of the least driven Hondas in private ownership in the world. It’s odometer reading is just 10,000 miles!

Mitsubishi had its strongest showing in years (more on this in subsequent installments) thanks in part to Dexter Rojas‘ 1976 Dodge Colt, modified but powered by a period-appropriate 4G52.

30 years separate the Toyopet Crown above with Evan Ruiz‘s ’88 Cressida, but both filled a similar niche in the Toyota lineup as the premium sedan. Evan’s MX73 is a SoCal regular and though its root beer metallic hue isn’t stock it somehow looks quite appropriate.

Ben Fernandez‘s Corolla is one of the cleanest E70s around. Extra points for rockin’ a four-door and resisting a round headlight conversion.

The Wankelholics crew’s timeless Mazda RX-2 sedan has consistently been one of our favorite rotaries at JCCS, proving that simplicity trumps bling any day.

There aren’t many Datsun 710s left these days, so it’s always great to see one of these rally legends kept alive. We first encountered this particular one wearing Appliance wheels at the Bayline Gathering and were glad to see it again diversifying Datsun corral at JCCS.

One of the great pleasures of this year’s bigger and better JCCS was the presence of rare cars like this pair of Datsun 610 sedans. Choosing between the US-style blue one and the white Japan-style shakotan sled with Longchamps is a tough choice.

We’ve seen some rare RHD imports at JCCS before, but never one of these. If you could import any car from Japan why you’d choose a nondescript 1990 T170 Corona is a mystery. At least you’re guaranteed to be the only one at any given car show.

Incredibly, a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 can now qualify for nostalgic status. Though this is a 1992 model — and number three of 1000 according to the owner — the AWD turbocharged proto-Evo debuted in 1987, so the E38A/E39A chassis has just passed the 25-year threshold.

Bonus parking area find: shakotan910 Bluebird Maxima!

We will have more 2012 JCCS coverage coming soon. See the gallery below for more photos and in case you missed it, here’s Part 01.